During recent Congressional Hearings Acting CFPB Director Russell Vought, testifying for the first time in that capacity, stated that the Trump Administration has succeeded in improving the structure and operation of the CFPB, but more work needs to be done.
In fact, in testimony before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs he said he would prefer that the agency be abolished.
“Though we have improved a great deal about how it operates, the Bureau remains structurally defective, and I do not believe it should exist in its current form,” Vought told the House Financial Services Committee. “I have been committed to running it in a responsible manner and addressing real harms instead of remaking financial markets in service of a radical political agenda.”
Among other things, Vought endorsed efforts to bring the CFPB under the appropriations process. The agency currently is funded out of the combined earnings of the Federal Reserve.
“I do not understand why Congress would ever provide funding for an agency outside [the appropriations] process,” Vought told the House Committee.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., said his committee will consider a large package of changes to the agency.
Among other things, Hill’s bill will increase the threshold for depository institutions to fall under CFPB supervision
Vought endorsed comprehensive changes to the agency. “We don’t want to go beyond the authority you have given us,” he told the House Committee. He endorsed proposals for Congress to codify the Bureau’s enforcement standards. For example, he said that Congress should codify the definition of Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices. We recently reported that in the Trump v. Slaughter decision by the Supreme Court both Chief Justice Robert and Justice Gorsuch made comments suggesting that the broad grant of authority by Congress to the FTC to define what is unfair or deceptive may not be constitutionally permissible, implying that the similar grant of authority to the CFPB may likewise be defective.
Vought said that the agency cannot pull back on its duties by itself. “We need Congress to restrict our authorities,” he said.
Vought can serve as Acting Director through August 1, 2026. President Trump has nominated Brian Johnson to be the permanent Director of the Bureau, but he has not yet been confirmed.
“If confirmed, I know President Trump’s nominee, Brian Johnson, will do a great job in continuing to steer the CFPB in an appropriate manner,” Vought told the House Committee.
Vought said that after he became Acting Director, his team took a comprehensive examination of the agency and found that the agency was “weaponized, out-of-control, and had gone far beyond its statutory mandate.”
“Instead of going down this destructive path, we have steered the Bureau towards operating with humility, accountability, and fiscal responsibility,” he said. “Regulations should be justified by statute, not the whims of ideologues at the Bureau. Supervision should be precisely targeted to avoid stifling economic growth and innovation and disproportionately increasing compliance costs. And enforcement should be based on clear violations of law—not on advancing a political agenda outside of accountability and oversight from elected officials and the American people.”
Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., accused Vought of “gutting the Agency.”
However, Hill told the House Committee that the agency has taken proper steps to reverse the trend of over-regulation of the Biden Administration. The agency “has begun to pull back from being a super regulator,” he said.
Ranking Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., criticized Vought for refusing to respond to requests for briefings, testimony and answers to letters sent by Committee Democrats. She called Vought’s testimony inadequate, adding that he failed to answer many questions. She asked that the committee hold a “Minority Day” hearing to hear from witnesses that oppose how the Trump Administration is operating the CFPB.
On the other side of the Capitol, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Tim Scott, R- S.C., endorsed Vought’s efforts at the CFPB. “Finally, we have a Bureau that respects its authority,” Scott said.
However, Ranking Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said that the CFPB cut enforcement actions against companies that had contacts with the Trump Administration.
“This is corruption and Mr. Vought is at the center,” Warren said. She later added, “Corruption at the CFPB has hurt American families.”